Thursday, October 10, 2013

Radioactive Water From Fracking Found in Pennsylvania Creek According to Duke Study – EcoWatch: Cutting Edge Environmental News Service

Radioactive Water From Fracking Found in Pennsylvania Creek According to Duke Study – EcoWatch: Cutting Edge Environmental News Service

Duke University studypublished Wednesday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology,found dangerously high levels of radiation in a creek near a drilling wastewater treatment facility in Pennsylvania.  
The study, Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western Pennsylvania, was conducted over a period of two years from the summer of 2010 to the fall of 2012 and analyzed water samples discharged downstream of the Josephine Brine Treatment Facility into Blacklick Creek in the Allegheny River watershed, according to StateImpact, a project of National Public Radio. Sediment found in the creek contained levels of radium that were 200 times greater than normal levels, along with high levels of salts like chloride and bromide in the surface water.
These elements are naturally occurring and released during the fracking process. Radioactive brine, known as “flowback,” is typically shipped to centers like the Josephine Brine Treatment Facility or injected into wells.

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